site.btaCourt Orders Former Energy Minister's Asset Freeze

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Court Orders
Former Energy Minister's
Asset Freeze


Sofia, September 26 (BTA) - Acting on a motion by the Commission for Counter-Corruption and Unlawfully Acquired Assets Forfeiture (CCCUAAF), the Sofia City Court (SCC) has imposed a preventive attachment on nearly 2.4 million leva worth of assets owned by former economy and energy minister Traicho Traikov, the CCCUAAF said in a press release on Wednesday.

The Commission specified that the cost of its future action is 2,375,664.55 leva, including half of several immovable properties, shares in companies and bank accounts and 1,366,795.73 leva on hand on accounts with an investment intermediary.

The procedure against Traikov was initiated in January 2017 after the Sofia City Prosecution Office notified the CCCUAAF that he was charged with malfeasance.

After the Commission's experts analyzed and compared the value of the assets and the net income of Traikov for a ten-year period, they found a significant discrepancy amounting to 2,450,000 leva.

The former minister has two weeks to prove the source of these assets. If he fails, the CCCUAAF will bring an unlawfully acquired asset forfeiture action before the SCC.

In March 2018, the Appellate Specialized Court finally dropped a case against Traikov, former deputy prime minister and finance minister Simeon Djankov, Bulbrokers owner Ivo Prokopiev and three Bulbrokers executives. The six were indicted in connection with the end-2011 sale of a 33 per cent residual state-owned shareholding in EVN Electricity Distribution and EVN Electricity Supply for nearly 90 million leva. According to the prosecution case, this compromised sale, stage-managed in advance by Traikov (who is charged with wilful mismanagement), inflicted a 27.6 million leva loss on the public purse. Bulbrokers acted as an agent for both the seller and the buyer and appraised the EVN stake at 1,600 leva per share, far below the price that it could fetch, the indictment argues.

The case against Traikov and his five co-defendants was referred back to the Specialized Prosecution Office for remedying of ambiguities and procedural breaches. LI/LG

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